US Open Golf 2012: Pairings and Predictions

Leading up to the 2012 U.S. Open, the pairings and tee times were announced on Thursday at the Olympic Club in San Francisco.

It's been an interesting season of golf, with Tiger Woods' second victory of the year at the Memorial creating shockwaves across the globe on Sunday.

Here's a look at the notable pairings for the first two rounds of the 2012 U.S. Open, complete with predictions.

Note: All times PT

Phil Mickelson, Tiger Woods, Bubba Watson

First Round: 7:33 a.m., Hole No. 9 

Second Round: 1:18 p.m., Hole No. 1

Rory McIlroy, Luke Donald, Lee Westwood

First Round: 1:29 p.m., Hole No. 1

Second Round: 7:44 a.m., Hole No. 9

Martin Kaymer, Hunter Mahan, Justin Rose

First Round: 1:25 p.m., Hole No. 9

Second Round: 8:10 a.m., Hole No. 1

Steve Stricker, Ian Poulter, Matt Kuchar

First Round: 1:36 p.m., Hole No. 9

Second Round: 8:21 a.m., Hole No. 1

Here are my top three picks for the 2012 U.S. Open.

3. Jason Dufner

Jason Dufner has been a workhorse this season. He's already appeared in 14 PGA Tour events and he's just hitting his stride. Dufner won the Byron Nelson Championship and placed second at the Crowne Plaza Invitational. He's an underdog, and it's safe to say he's not had much success at the Open, but I have a good feeling about him this time around.

2. Phil Mickelson

While Phil Mickelson has never won the U.S. Open, he's placed second or tied for second five times in his career. While I don't think he'll win this tournament, especially after some rough times on the links lately, I do think he'll be in the running on the last day. I think withdrawing from the Memorial was actually a good idea—it gives Mickelson more time to rest before the Open.

1. Tiger Woods

That's right, I'm going with Tiger Woods.

I'm still not completely convinced Woods is back for good, but his victory at the Memorial was impressive, and he hit some shots that reminded me of the Tiger of yore. I'm also not that thrilled about Rory McIlroy's play this year. I think the timing is right for Woods to win his 15th career major championship.

Follow me on Twitter. We can talk about golf together.